Attacks spurred study of religions

By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- 'Tis the season for the reappearance of a phrase from Luke 2:14.
"On earth peace, good will toward men" will appear on banners, plaques and Christmas cards as Christians celebrate the birth of their savior Dec. 25.
But the events of another date -- Sept. 11 -- made the overwhelmingly Christian population of the United States look beyond the terrorist attacks at the true meaning of Islam, which comes from a word that means peace.
That search resulted in many talks in the last three months throughout the Mahoning Valley as children and adults learned about the faith of their neighbors.
That's unprecedented
"The phenomenon now seems to be involving more than a few religions," said Dr. Ivory Lyons, an associate professor of religion and black studies at Mount Union College in Alliance.
Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Bah & aacute;' & iacute;s, Sikhs and others are involved.
"It's not just Jews and Christians," said Lyons. "Religions and religious leaders are using this time to promote their faith in terms of greater understanding and greater awareness. Along with peace, there are ideas about basic tenants, the number of adherents, where they are [located], and some history."
Idea of purging: The messages have that the adherents are peaceful and kind to others. But is there a religion that says it is not peaceful?
"You do have elements within any religion, a fundamental element, that take the position that our deity or our ultimate reality or our God demands that we purge the world, purge our country, of these infidels, much like what happened during the Crusades with Christians and Muslims," Lyons said.
"But at the core and the heart of most of these faiths is the idea of peace, of getting along with others, that we want to bring them around to the right way, but you don't do it at the barrel of a gun."
The Prophet Mohammed talked of a holy war in terms of actual battle and the inner struggle a person has with his tendency to be selfish or impure, said Lyons, noting that in war, there were rules to be followed, such as not killing women or children.
Most people generally spend their lives working, raising their children, practicing their faith and trying to get along with their neighbors. But that's not just people living a list of religious rules.
"To me, it goes to a much more fundamental aspect of humans and humanity," Lyons said. "I believe that people in general want to live in peace. No one wants to constantly be harassed about going about their daily living.
"People in Northern Ireland got sick and tired of always being bombed, so they're willing to risk their lives for peace so their families can enjoy something. In the Civil Rights movement, people got sick and tired of all those things, so they decided, 'I'm going to sit down and I'm not going to move.'"
That human element that pushes for resolution pushes for peace, Lyons said.
Definition: The educator defines religion as a human phenomenon in which humans seek to understand the nature of the ultimate reality, develop a relationship with it and desire transformation as a result of the relationship.
"Those relationships may be with religion, God, Allah, prayer, various yogis, and in Hinduism and Christianity, you have various paths. Those are ways to try to establish a relationship with the ultimate reality," he said.
Transformations of those relationships change the life of the individual for the better and then the community, he added.
"It's hard to separate what's human and what is religious, but they are inseparable because religion is a human phenomenon," Lyons said.
People who lack love seek it through their transformations.
"When they find Jesus or when they find Islam, they have found something that speaks to who they are as a person," Lyons said.
"When a person comes to a point they can say, 'I found someone or something that accepted me for who I am despite those things I've done in the past,' they can give answers to life. People don't have questions, they have answers to life. And they realize the path they were on was a destructive path. And the individual senses this is the way to go."
Different faiths may not be able to reconcile different beliefs, but that doesn't impede peace.
"Once a person says, 'You're human. I know you believe this and I believe that, and we're not going to agree, but we can agree that we are human. We're going to accept each other with all of our faults as human,'" Lyons said.
"That goes a long way to trying to help others. When Mother Teresa would see someone who was hungry or destitute, she saw God."
wilkinson@vindy.com